You must be hurting deeply. Perhaps you're also feeling overwhelmed and completely alone in this place of emptiness and grief. I’ve been where you are and my heart aches with yours. I want you to know there is someone who sees and someone who cares. His name is Jesus. The journey right now is dark and painful, but if you will travel with me using God’s word as our guide, it will eventually lead to a place of hope and restoration. A destination where God’s love ushers you into wholeness. Where His healing hand won’t just repair your shattered soul, but will establish you in the truth that you are deeply loved and understood. In contrast to your current sorrow, this may seem too good to be true. I get that, I’ve been there. At this point, I’m only asking you to trust that He is able. I invite you to spend these next six weeks at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to enter into your wounded heart through this very place of brokenness. Will you give Him permission to transform you in a way that far exceeds your own expectations?

~ Colleen Meissner Married for the first time at 42. Colleen knows firsthand the pain of heartbreak, being single longer than expected, and the battle against fear and insecurity. She holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and has spent over 10 years sharing her own experience and knowledge as a coach and mentor. She now has a vision to share the wisdom she’s been given with you.

Guest Post: Through a Broken HeartA Funny, sad or stressful Thing Happened on the Way to Getting Published and or completing your book “Aren’t you excited!” is the question I am getting asked the most by people when they learn I am publishing for the first time. I smile at their reaction when I say with complete honesty, “no – I’m absolutely terrified!” You see, at some point, as a little girl I developed a life mantra and didn’t even know it: “stay small, stay hidden and stay safe.” Not one I recommend, by the way.The most challenging part of being a new author is the exposure – having my thoughts and my heart out there for everyone to read and to critique. This is an incredibly vulnerable place to be. I feel raw and exposed.My poor husband has had to deal with my temporary freak-outs where I suddenly stop and say, “what the heck am I doing, I can’t do this!” My husband, who is an entrepreneur and fearless in this way, just can’t understand it. But I know some of you will get it.The easy thing to do would be to continue mentoring, coaching and teaching in my small community where I am already known and have earned a reputation as being “wise” or “impactful.” A place, that is known and safe. A place I am comfortable in. There was just one problem – for the past several years, I have known that the Lord was calling me out and asking me to step up and to be seen. There comes a time in everyone’s faith journey where he will ask you to do this:Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16Here is the honest truth – I finished the first draft of this devotion in May of 2015. Yes, it has taken me three years to get it published. Now, I can give you a very justifiable list of reasons that it’s taken so long for me to get this to print. But the truth is, I have been simply too scared to take the leap.In fact, I wouldn’t be here at this moment if I weren’t suddenly thrown in to it (like being pushed into the deep end of a swimming pool!) when my hybrid-publisher “accidentally” listed my book on Amazon without my knowledge. The day my publicist (Monic Kelly, MK Marketing) told me that it was already up, I literally got dizzy! She had to spend over an hour just talking me down. I was frustrated, angry… but mostly I was afraid.Sometimes it’s good to get pushed into the pool. I had been standing on the edge deciding if the water was safe, wondering if I could swim, contemplating how cold the water was. Had I not been pushed, I’d likely still be there, standing on the edge saying, someday I’ll be brave. Someday I’ll publish.If you can relate, trust me. Even though it’s scary – take the leap or get someone to push you!

About the Author:I earned a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Azusa Pacific University in 2010 and have been mentoring women for over a decade. The most common area of counsel I provide is to single women not ashamed to admit they want to be married and have someone to share their life with. These women often without realizing it, are battling soul wounds (emotional and heart wounds) from their past that are preventing them from fulfilling this deeply held desire of marriage and family.

I consider there to be no greater privilege than to have women trust me with their deepest struggles and fears and to travel along side of them on their journey from a place of being held in bondage by lies (“I am fat, ugly, a loser, unlovable…”) to a place of freedom and victory. I know this journey well, I have traveled it; it is hard and it is long, and you cannot do it alone. There are seemingly impossible hills to climb, valleys to crawl out of and side-roads leading to nowhere. Perhaps more than a mentor, I am a tour-guide, leading you as you navigate your way to healing and overcoming those things that have kept you from embracing the fullness of life that the Lord came to give you (John 10:10).Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest